James Evans (@GalloisinFrance) takes a look at what 2021 has meant for Cymru and the challenges ahead in the autumn.
It’s safe to come out from behind the sofa now. The headaches since the defeat against the Danes have subsided and the Italians did us a huge favour at Wembley so we haven’t had to endure an entire summer of “Sweet Caroline”. The new season has begun and with full stadiums, record crowds at local and grassroots clubs and life returning to a ‘new normal’ – we can begin to come back to Cymru as the autumn internationals approach on the horizon…with the hope of tournament football again next year.
Bruised and Beaten
So far 2021 has been a mixed bag for our Cymru boys – encouraging wins against Mexico, Czech Republic and Turkey at Euro 2020, will do a lot to keep spirits high going in to the next phase of games for the WC qualifiers this September but, as ever, it hasn’t all been positive. Despite strong performances against Belgium and Italy, we have come up second best on occasions this year and it has not always shown us in the best light.
Embed from Getty ImagesA lack of goals, and taste for red cards, have been evident our performances this year, culminating in the game against Denmark where we uncharacteristically lost our heads in the second half. The organised and drilled nature of our side seemed to dissipate under the pressure, not just in the knockout game but in other games during 2021.
Indeed, we were all left with the feeling, after the Denmark game, that we just didn’t get to show what we were capable of. Yet, our record in 2021 is far from glamorous:
2021 Record (Friendlies / Qualifiers / Euro 2021)
Played 9
Wins 3
Draws 2
Losses 4
Goals for 6
Goals against 12
Out of these nine games, Cymru has failed to score in 4- against Albania, France, Denmark and Italy. This is a worrying statistic after a positive back-end of 2021, which saw us scoring late, important goals to clinch games.
The Autumn: A New Hope
The games this autumn will come thick and fast after a testing summer, but will no doubt be a welcome challenge for Cymru and a chance to put the record straight after feeling that we just didn’t do ourselves justice at the Euros. Though it all kicks off with a tough friendly (easy friendlies are a thing of the past these days!), against Finland away, our early opponents in qualifying are Belarus and Estonia.
Embed from Getty Images“Proceed with caution!” the more experienced and wiser amongst us will say, as this is Wales and, in the past, we have come ‘a cropper’ against such opponents. And with the way that international football has progressed over the last 10 years, we can expect sterling tests against these two sides. Nonetheless, facing these teams will give us an opportunity to find our feet again. Hopefully score a few goals and re-gain some lost confidence after the bruising we took in the summer.
At the start of this season, it seems that our big stars are getting all-important game time and we will need them on top form come this autumn. Bale getting game time again back at Madrid, Kieffer Moore amongst the goals for Cardiff and Dan James starting for Man United. Importantly, what we need this autumn is goals as well as a welcome return to our resolute defending displays that have served us so well in the past.
The Test of Page
After taking the helm from last autumn, the results so far have been varied under Page. The tactical un-doing of Cymru at Euro 2020 cannot be overlooked. We were completely found out in the key games and left wanting when we could, and should, have produced better. Though, there have been positives peppered amongst the frustration. The last-minute victories against the Czechs, Finland, Bulgaria and Mexico, to name a few. From those games we can take a lot of positives from our style of play, but this needs to be emulated across the board in the rest of our games this autumn.
Since the Euros, there has also been the departure of assistant manager, Albert Stuivenberg, who has been a key support during the last few years. We will only be able to fully appreciate the impact of this once these autumn games have been played.
Embed from Getty ImagesPage has been given free reign to appoint new members of his coaching team, which will give him more flexibility to set up the way he wants to play but, as we have seen so far, this has been far from perfect. Recently, there have been remarks on the differences in Page’s demeanour and confidence from autumn 2019 to how he was at the Euros; demonstrating his progression as a coach and leader. Though this is great to see, we also need to see our performances on the pitch mirror this progression and take us to new heights under this current management and importantly, get us to a World Cup.
Great Expectations
The last 7-8 years has seen Cymru progress way beyond collective expectations and hit the heights of Euro 2016 as well as getting out of the group at Euro 2020. As fans, we could be forgiven for letting our hearts and minds get carried away as we have seen our national team excel and propel themselves on to the world stage, with captivating and passionate performances that typify the ‘Welsh way’ and our enthusiasm (as fans) for Wales.
We could also be forgiven for getting carried away with understanding our own limits. Have we overachieved and therefore raised our expectations too high? Were we wrong to dream pre-Euros? Is there a glass ceiling to the progression of this side under Page?
There are no right or wrong answers, as this is football and in football, anything is possible. We should never be afraid to dream, as Coleman once defiantly said after the Belgium victory in Lille. This is ever so important as we aim to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.
Embed from Getty ImagesLet us not forget the last qualification campaign and what that brought at the end. Coming into September in 2019, confidence was low, we struggled to get past Azerbaijan at home after key losses against Croatia and Hungary in the summer. All felt lost going into those last few games, yet Giggs turned the situation around and on that November night, we all were in Zombie-nation-delirium again as we qualified. Time after time we’ve been up against it and prevailed..
Dare to Dream
Togetherness and flair will be the key to success over the coming months. With Page having another opportunity to re-throw the dice and get Cymru to another World Cup, how we set up and have a go will define his tenure as interim boss.
So what is between us and qualifying? 2 games vs Belarus and Estonia, 1 away game vs Czech Republic and a show down against Belgium at home on Tuesday 16th November.
On paper, we haven’t been the best this year. But with our current crop of youngsters and wiser heads having learned key lessons at Euro 2020, surely, we can dream of another autumn renaissance like in 2019… Come on Cymru!